Partner's UK visa affected by application for Aus visa?

[ajwilo]

Hi,

This question sort of straddles both UK and Australia immigration issues, and as such I'm looking for advice from anyone who has some knowledge of both countries with regards immigration rules. I don't want to make multiple posts, so am putting it in the UK forum. If a moderator feels it should be moved to Australia forum, no worries!

Some context. I am a British citizen, my partner is Australian. We live in the UK. My partner was successful with her first application for FLR as the spouse of a British citizen this past December. She is on the 5 year partner route, meaning her application for 2nd period of FLR will happen at around June 2020 and application for ILR in December 2022. Her application was fairly straightforward. She was already in the UK on Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa and we had been living together for 18 months.

We got married and applied for her spouse visa for the same reason most people do - to be able to continue our relationship. Being in the same country makes that much easier! The main reasons we decided that she would apply for UK visa rather than me applying for Australian visa were because she was already here and we had set up home together; we're both self-employed and have established reasonable avenues of work; the application for Australia partner visa from outside Australia currently has processing time of up to 12 months.

I'm fully aware that, at some point, my partner will want to be able to spend a decent prolonged period of time closer to her friends and family - and I would like to be able to spend time in 'her' world, so to speak, the way she has spent time in mine. If we start a family, we will also want to have the choice as to where we bring up children. My gut instinct is that not much good comes from a situation if someone feels trapped without choices. If my partner, at some point in the not-too-distant future, wants to be around her family, but I am unable to join her because I don't have a visa, it would make life hard for her. The same as it would for me if the roles were reversed.

This brings me to my question (apologies for the long pre-amble!) - would me applying for Australian partner visa have any ramifications for my partner and her application for UK spouse visa? So, for example, If I were to apply for Australian Temporary Partner Visa (subclass 309) in June 2019 and I was granted it by June 2020, would my partners application for 2nd period of FLR as Spouse of British citizen in June 2020 be negatively affected at all? The idea would be for her 2nd period of FLR to be granted, and for the both of us to then spend a year in Australia - where I can see how likely I am to be able to make a living within my chosen profession - before returning to the UK 18 months before her application for ILR. Then my Australian Temporary Partner visa would be turned into Permanent Partner visa by June 2022, and we would be in a position to be able to decide where we settle.

Just to be clear - my qualifications are not on the skills shortage list in Australia so I couldn't apply for any other kind of visa there.

I hope my question is clear! Essentially, I need to know whether UK immigration will look at my passport and say "he's got an Australian visa, they can both go live there!" and subsequently deny my partner's next period of FLR. Or whether me being a citizen here gives me the right to choose to want to stay here and set-up family with my Australian partner, despite the fact I'd have a visa for Oz.

I'm aware that we would need to continue to meet the financial requirements for her UK visa. They also ask for explanations of any period spent outside of the UK for 6 months or more - is that 6 months consecutively, or in total? So, If she was out of the UK for 4 months, back for 4 then out for 4 again, would that need to be explained or would that be neither here not there because it wasn't a consecutive 6 month period?

Thank you so much for reading this, and thanks in advance for any advice/help/suggestions. Really appreciate it.

Regards

[CR001]

You are overthinking.

would me applying for Australian partner visa have any ramifications for my partner and her application for UK spouse visa?

No.

So, for example, If I were to apply for Australian Temporary Partner Visa (subclass 309) in June 2019 and I was granted it by June 2020, would my partners application for 2nd period of FLR as Spouse of British citizen in June 2020 be negatively affected at all?

No.

[ajwilo]

Thanks CR001 for your quick reply. That's reassuring!

Do you know anything about explaining periods of 6 months or more that have been spent out of the UK? I noticed it on the FLR(M) application. It says something like "If you have spent a period of 6 months or more outside of the UK since your last application for FLR, please provide explanation". Would "visiting family for an extended period of time" be an acceptable answer??

I know I may be overthinking it, but I've heard stories of people being told by UKBA that if they are able to live in another country, then there's no need for them to be awarded a visa here. That they're told something along the lines of "The Home Office finds that it is feasible for you and your sponsor to continue your relationship in the applicants country of origin, and therefore we won't be granting you a UK visa". I even read that someone was told that even though the sponsor DIDN'T have a visa for their partners country of origin. I just want to be 100% sure that I wouldn't be harming my partners future hopes of a UK visa by applying for an Oz one myself.

Cheers

[CR001]

Would "visiting family for an extended period of time" be an acceptable answer??

Should be fine.

I know I may be overthinking it, but I've heard stories of people being told by UKBA that if they are able to live in another country, then there's no need for them to be awarded a visa here.

You need to understand that for an extension and ILR, the requirement to prove income again and evidence of cohabitation for 2 years is mandatory. How you will get around that if living out of the UK, I don't know.

[ajwilo]

[/quote]
You need to understand that for an extension and ILR, the requirement to prove income again and evidence of cohabitation for 2 years is mandatory. How you will get around that if living out of the UK, I don't know.
[/quote]

Our thinking was that we would remain on the lease at the place we currently live at (I have lived in the same place for 11 years and have a good relationship with the landlord, and he would be happy for us to do that). We would be looking at spending a year in Oz from the moment my partners extension of FLR is granted. As evidence of cohabitation is for 2 years prior to application, the first 6 months of our time in Oz wouldn't matter. The 2nd 6 months in Oz would also be the first 6 months of the 2 year period we would need to provide cohabitation evidence for. If we still had our lease in the UK, and still had bills/bank statements etc being sent there, would that suffice? We would also provide evidence that we were spending time in Oz together, I guess through photos/travel documents/letter from her parents stating that we were staying together at their house etc. I assumed (perhaps naively) that so long as we remained on the lease at our place in the UK, that would be evidence of cohabitation...

In terms of financial requirement. We are both self-employed, so have to meet the requirement by providing income from most recent tax year. My partners ILR application will be Dec 2022, so tax year Apr 2021-Apr 2022 would be looked at. Our thinking was that if we spent a year in Oz, we'd be back in the UK Jun 2021, so would have enough time to - between us - earn enough to meet the requirement. I'm pretty sure you can also include income received from foreign countries, although no doubt the documents you'd need to provide would be extensive and difficult.